The small fire has flared up

Growing up from competitions and challenges for agricultural start-ups - daily practical experience from domestic to foreign fairs... through many stages, from land to field... Super small entities have reached the title of HVNCLC voted by consumers.

Mr. Ho Van Mung, Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee and Businesswoman Doan Thi Hong Tham.

Over 20 years in charge of R&D of herbal products at Hau Giang Pharmaceutical, being the subject of research and successful production of Eugica cough medicine, Pharmacist Doan Thi Hong Tham stopped working at the company to start a business with medicinal tea and essential oils. Raising the commercial potential of herbs and making vegetables escape the precarious situation, bright in the morning and withered in the afternoon... I thought that this good idea would make the journey to success easier, but "in the battle" I realized that it was not enough.

Sticking to reality to be creative, Pharmacist Doan Thi Hong Tham creates surprises when turning vegetables and tubers into medicinal tea and now is a way to inspire with a slogan - at first hearing it seems "getting rich is not difficult" - "Let me clarify that making oil is not difficult", Tham shows how to make oil simply - exposes - the hypnotic trick of selling Thai herbal oil.

Inspired by local resources and compatible technology, Pharmacist Tham first created 14 products identified as medicinal teas, including Honey Ginger Tea, Lemongrass Ginger Tea, Fish Mint Tea, Polyscias fruticosa Tea, Purple Stewed Vegetable Tea, Chrysanthemum Tea, Lotus Heart Passion Flower Tea, Solanum Procumbens Tea, Gymnema Sylvestre Tea... people only need to drink a cup of tea instead of having to eat a basket of vegetables. If taking traditional medicine, they have to cook a whole pot, a whole pot... cover their nose, close their eyes to drink, it is both time-consuming and difficult to drink. Applying technology from the pharmaceutical industry, creating convenient and effective products... is the best way due to several advantages: 1/ New products are convenient for everyone; 2/ Overcoming the problem of morning vegetables, afternoon trash - extending the shelf life to 18-24 months; 3/ Products can be transported far.

After more than 4 years of operating in the startup ecosystem, facing challenges when the starting point is super small, the consumer community is still unclear about the portrait, safe materials still have to be called to follow safety standards, investment capital, sales, and money are trickling in - Tham has drawn her own lesson - to be a super small Start Up - you must have determination, must know how to nurture passion, must learn forever to be creative, must have courage and must be resilient", said Pharmacist Tham.

After the ThaiFex trip with the “Studies tour” group organized by BSA, and practical experience, Pharmacist Tham found herself on the right track - matching the trend of soluble powder format, no residue. Hygie & Panacee products - Hearing customers from many different cultures, many demanding markets, say "very surprised with the vegetable products that Vietnam can make". Her product, embedded in the two words Vietnam, seems to touch the sacred. Hygie & Panacee are the names of the two children of the God of medicine Asclepius in Greek mythology. This time, Hygie & Panacee are named in the HVNCLC 2025 team, so happy, so happy - I don't know why I just want to cry my heart out.

Pham Xuan Thanh's decision left his parents bewildered

Far away in the southernmost region of the country, the product with the brand name “Con Tom Rung” is present at Vinwonder, in Saigon, Hanoi, at Thaifex Anuga Asia, Thailand… thanks to the tireless efforts of Pham Xuan Thanh, the operator of Con Tom Rung Company Limited. “This is Con Tom Rung cracker produced by traditional handcraft, with a ratio of 40% fresh shrimp…” Thanh confessed: Many offers at Vinwonder are just for fun, not for profit, but in return, it is an opportunity to approach a new market and contact a new group of customers.

Pham Xuan Thanh, shares his perception of "Forest Shrimp" from Ca Mau mangrove forest.

Graduated from the University of Architecture, majoring in Urban and Regional Planning in 2014. In Ngoc Hien district, Thanh's education is a source of pride for his family and friends. However, Architect Pham Xuan Thanh "packaged" his dream from high school and turned to find joy in the mangrove forest. Thanh's parents were bewildered by his decision.

Thanh’s reasoning? In 2016, despite having been attached to this wild land since the 90s of the last century, after failures to the point of losing everything, Thanh’s family did not want to live in this desolate place forever. At that time, 30 families, relatives and neighbors, discussed leaving the forest to go to “Binh Duong”.

Returning from Saigon to his hometown, he used to sell shrimp to support his family when he was still in school. The profit is greater under the intact forest canopy, each month the aquatic resources can be exploited twice during the full moon and thirtieth tides. Whiteleg shrimp, tiger prawns, crabs, various types of fish... the most abundant is still freshwater shrimp - the main raw material for making dried shrimp... Thanh reassured his family and clearly stated his intention to open Con Tom Rung Co., Ltd., in Ong Quyen hamlet, Tan An Tay commune, Ngoc Hien district, Ca Mau province. Why are there so many things from the mangrove forest but Thanh only chooses wild shrimp? Is that all Thanh wants?

“The freshwater shrimp here are naturally grown from seaweed, algae to plankton, without the use of industrial feed or antibiotics. We just need to clarify the natural origin of freshwater shrimp, silver shrimp, and tiger shrimp - native species, especially delicious - from mangrove forests, mangrove forests, tiger shrimp, parrots... We just need to carefully prepare the products before selling, have a tight plan, then in 1 year, 3 years or 5 years, Thanh will still be selling shrimp because that is my fate with wild shrimp - a special product of this region", Thanh replied.

“Con Tom Rung is a “local brand” of Ca Mau mangrove forest. There are shrimp crackers; dried shrimp; shrimp paste; sour shrimp paste… Thanh said: The main products are shrimp crackers and shrimp paste, accounting for 60% of output and sales.

Ca Mau has more than 60,000 hectares of mangrove forests, the forest area is gradually thinning as everyone invests billions to raise white-leg shrimp and tiger prawns industrially, while Thanh's family only has 9 hectares of forest land contracted from the State! Opening the door, you can see fish sauce, mangroves, tiger prawns, parrots, dates and vines. In the past, after selecting, they were sold to traders, but now, after selecting, they have to steam, then dry to make dried shrimp, or freeze to make frozen shrimp. Workers only work during the day, at night they go home to dump the shrimp. If there were no wild shrimp, everyone would have sold their land and houses to go to the city and not stay here. Now the whole family sits around selecting shrimp, chatting until late at night. Starting from a family business, a tiny family "team" - not in a hurry, Thanh tried to invest in a 200m2 factory according to ISO and HACCP standards, operating according to the food safety standards system, supply capacity: 30 tons/month. The following year and many years later, Thanh is still confident when talking about Con Tom Rung and "sticking around" is the right decision, Thanh confidently said.

Now, the Con Tom Rung brand includes a community tourism model right in the shrimp farm - a unique feature to introduce the image of Ca Mau mangrove forest to visitors from near and far. Thanh offers products, continuously meets, exchanges and has welcomed VIP guests of a large domestic supermarket chain, directly exchanges with purchasing departments in all three regions of the North - Central - South. Everyone visits the farm, sees the natural production facility and then... evaluates a light lunch; everyone sits on the stilt house, ignores the details, focuses on the delicious part, each person sees for themselves what is delicious.

So, Con Tom Rung makes each delicious dish, which used to be a test of endurance for Start Ups when the scale was still too small, a challenge for this small hamlet on the edge of the forest. For Thanh - success is at the destination that is hard to see, so we have to be more confident in the journey we are taking, carrying the mark of creation from the mangrove ecosystem. Thanh's relatives, no one has to leave the village in despair anymore is the first success, then the answer to the question "where is the money"? "From this mangrove forest", Thanh said.

Mekong Delta business linkage - questions for the future

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (now the Ministry of Finance), in 2024, the Mekong Delta region will have about 70,600 operating enterprises, an increase of 9.6% compared to 2023 (about 2,400 enterprises. In 2025, the 29th year of the HVNCLC program, 95 enterprises in the Mekong Delta will be voted by consumers. Long An has the highest number of enterprises achieving HVNCLC (accounting for 23%), An Giang (18%), Can Tho (13%), Dong Thap (12%), Ben Tre (8%), Kien Giang (8%), Tien Giang (5%), Vinh Long (3%), Tra Vinh (3%), Bac Lieu (2%), Ca Mau (2%), Hau Giang (2%).

Every year, after the list of HVNCLC enterprises is announced, the Provincial Business Association, the number of enterprises in this region voted into the HVNCLC enterprise team, what does that raise?

An Giang is preparing to organize events for the Provincial People's Committee to award certificates of merit to businesses voted by consumers, said Ms. Kim Chi, Vice President of the An Giang Provincial Business Association. Discussions through local business associations showed that:

Enterprises in the region that were voted HVNCLC by consumers many years ago have undergone many changes (structure, model, successor force, etc.), there are differences in the way they grow in the same direction or shrink, change direction, business form, etc. Survival lessons are rarely summarized and shared. Meanwhile, newly voted enterprises in SMEs have many differences in awareness, operation methods and very limited connection.

How can we shorten the gap to overcome the above limitations in a short period of time? How can each locality have a pioneering team to practice quality standards when integrating, improving governance capacity, innovation, greening, standardization, digitalization... when the situation changes?

According to Mr. Nguyen Tuong Nam, Chairman of Vinh Long Province Business Association, OCOP entities, potential Start Ups, on the right track, even cooperatives that excel in implementing standards need to share the HVNCLC approach. Should there be a coordination mechanism in the future between the HVNCLC Business Association and localities, including coordination in selecting "Seed Enterprises", connecting experts to improve operational capacity, creating an important leap in enterprises so that enterprises can become potential entities contributing to local growth.

Enterprises, especially family businesses, have a successor generation. This force also has differences. Therefore, it is necessary to orient the preservation and increase of energy in the enterprise, promote transformation and adaptation. From there, create conditions for the successor force to have many opportunities to learn, practice transformation, adaptation and make meaningful leaps in the context of too many changes.

According to Mr. Nam, human resource training is always a sustainable solution (Business leaders/Business motivation groups, establishing young groups for strategic thinking and product development), promoting the experience of organizing Study tours of the BSA Center, going on field trips with experts (Field courses/practice/connecting - sharing lessons), from leading businesses, practical lessons are always useful for change. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen field training methods. In particular, the HVNCLC Business Association, the BSA Center has a lot of experience in organizing learning associated with international fairs/Study tours abroad, with experts evaluating and analyzing to help businesses adjust their operations.

In the future, despite major changes in localities, the business force operating in teams, new ecosystems, public-private, private-private cooperation... the new situation still expects a new generation of entrepreneurs, with sophisticated vision, good at practical combat and closely connected with each other, Mr. Nguyen Tuong Nam expects.

CHAU LAN

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/the-he-doanh-nhan-moi-a185050.html